US20150036858A1 - Cube Speaker/Amplifier - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable electronic device includes an electronic amplifier and a battery power supply in a lower hollow prismatic-shaped housing which has a rectangular base wall panel and an upper oblique wall panel which is disposed obliquely downwards between a rear panel and a front panel of the housing, and an upper housing containing a loudspeaker which has a hollow prismatic shape including a lower oblique wall panel which is disposed downwardly between the rear wall panel of the housing and a front wall panel of the housing. Confronting outer faces of the oblique housing wall panels are joined by a central hollow rotatable joint which receives therethrough electrical leads that connect the loudspeaker to the amplifier. In a first, 0-degree orientation of the amplifier housing relative to the speaker housing, the composite shape of the device approximates that of a cube. The rotatable joint facilitates rotational motion of the speaker housing relative to the amplifier housing to a first, 90-degree orientation and a second, 180-degree orientation, to thus direct the sounds from the loudspeaker in different selected directions.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• A. Field of the Invention
• The present invention relates to portable audio equipment. More particularly, the invention relates to a portable battery powered combination loudspeaker and amplifier for receiving audio frequency electrical signals and amplifying the electrical signals to produce music or speech sounds which are emitted by the loudspeaker in a variety of selectable directions.
• B. Description of Background Art
• There is a wide variety of portable electronic devices which are capable of receiving audio frequency signals such as voice communications and music. Some such devices are capable of receiving and recording in internal electronic memory, i.e., downloading audio frequency signals. The electrical signals are amplified and input to a loudspeaker, which converts the electrical signals to audible sounds which are emitted from the loudspeaker. Devices of the type described above include cell phones, MP3 players, portable computers and the like. Because of the small size of devices such as MP3 players and cell phones, loudspeakers in such devices are necessarily small, and thus inherently limit the fidelity of sounds emitted by the loudspeaker. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a portable auxiliary device which contained a loudspeaker of sufficient size to reproduce sounds such as music with greater fidelity than available from small devices which receive or produce audio frequency signals. It would also be desirable to provide a portable auxiliary loudspeaker device which included an electronic amplifier for amplifying low level audio signals and an integral battery for powering the amplifier. There are available a variety of portable amplifier/loudspeaker devices of the type described above. However, there remains a need for a portable loudspeaker and amplifier device which can be placed on a desk top or other such supporting surface, and the speaker swiveled or pivoted with respect to the supporting surface, so that high fidelity sounds can be emitted from the loudspeaker and projected in different selectable directions. It would also be desirable to provide a portable amplifier with an integral loudspeaker pointable in different directions which had an internal electrical power source. The foregoing considerations were a motivation for the present invention.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
• An object of the present invention is to provide a portable electronic device which includes a lower base housing that contains an electronic amplifier for receiving audio frequency electrical signals, and an upper loudspeaker housing which contains a loudspeaker and is swivelable to different angular orientations relative to the base housing, to thus direct sounds emitted by the loudspeaker in different selectable orientations relative to a support surface on which the base housing is placed.
• Various other objects and advantages of the present invention, and its most novel features, will become apparent to those skilled in the art by perusing the accompanying specification, drawings and claims.
• It is to be understood that although the invention disclosed herein is fully capable of achieving the objects and providing the advantages described, the characteristics of the invention described herein are merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments. Accordingly, I do not intend that the scope of my exclusive rights and privileges in the invention be limited to details of the embodiments described. I do intend that equivalents, adaptations and modifications of the invention reasonably inferable from the description contained herein be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• Briefly stated, the present invention comprehends a portable electronic device which includes an upper speaker housing that contains a loudspeaker, and a lower, base housing that contains an electronic amplifier and rotatably supports the speaker housing. The amplifier housing also contains a battery holder and battery for powering the amplifier, and input jacks for receiving audio signals from portable electronic devices such as cellphones, MP3 players and the like. Low power audio signals input to the amplifier are amplified and input to the loudspeaker. A preferred embodiment of the device includes a Bluetooth radio frequency transceiver for receiving wireless audio signals, and a rechargeable battery which may be recharged from a powered USB port.
• According to the invention, the speaker and amplifier housings are joined together by a rotatable joint which in a first position orients the housings to form a cube-shaped unit, which has a flat, generally square plan-view base for placement on a support surface such as a table or desk. The speaker housing has a generally square plan-view speaker grille inset into an opening in the upper face of the cube, which is disposed parallel to the flat base of the amplifier housing. Thus, the speaker grille is disposed in a horizontal plane parallel to a desk top or table on which the device is placed, when the speaker housing is rotatably oriented in a first, zero-degree home position relative to the amplifier housing.
• The amplifier housing of the speaker/amplifier device according to the present invention has generally the shape of a hollow rectangular prism which is truncated by replacing a flat upper face of the cube which was perpendicular to vertical sides of the cube by an upper oblique face which slopes downwards and forwards from the rear face of the cube at about a 45-degree angle.
• The speaker housing containing the loudspeaker has a shape complementary to that of the amplifier housing, having the shape of a cube truncated by a lower oblique face which is angled upwardly and rearwardly at about a 45-degree angle from the front face of the base housing. Thus, when the lower oblique face of the speaker housing congruently contacts the upper oblique face of the upper oblique wall panel of the amplifier housing, the composite shape of the upper, loudspeaker housing and lower, amplifier housing approximates that of a hollow cube. The outer walls of the cube are thin uniform thickness panels.
• The lower obliquely angled face of the upper speaker housing containing the loud speaker is rotatably attached to the contacting upper obliquely angled face of the lower amplifier housing by a central perforated rotatable joint. The rotatable joint includes an annular ring-shaped groove in the upper angled face of the upper oblique lower amplifier housing. The rotatable joint also includes an annular ring-shaped flange which protrudes downwardly from the lower face of the lower oblique wall panel of the upper speaker housing, the flange being rotatably received within the annular groove in the upper oblique face of the lower amplifier housing.
• The upper and lower oblique faces of the amplifier and speaker housings are restrained against axial motion perpendicular to their mating faces by a trifurcated tubular snap ring which has three axially downwardly protruding legs. The three snap ring legs are elastically deformable radially inwardly to enable the legs to be inserted downwardly through a central clearance aperture through the lower oblique wall panel of the speaker housing, and into an interference fit through a smaller diameter central aperture through the upper oblique wall panel of the amplifier housing located below the lower speaker housing panel.
• The lower end of each snap-ring leg has a radially inwardly protruding, transversely disposed shoulder flange. When the legs emerge below the lower surface of the upper oblique wall panel of the lower amplifier housing, elasticity of the legs causes the shoulder flanges to spring radially inwardly beyond the lower circumferential edge of the central aperture through the upper oblique wall panel of the amplifier housing, thus locking the upper and lower housings against relative axial movement but enabling relative rotatable movement between the housings.
• In a first, zero-degree “home” position of the upper speaker housing relative to the lower amplifier housing, the front, rear, left and right outer sides of the speaker housing are co-planar with corresponding outer sides of the amplifier housing. Consequently, in this home position, the composite shape of the speaker/amplifier is that of a parallelepiped, approximating that of a cube. In a preferred embodiment, the relative dimensions of the amplifier and speaker housings differ slightly from those of a perfect cube. Thus, in an example embodiment, with the speaker housing vertically aligned with the amplifier housing, the speaker/amplifier had a front-to-rear depth of 2½ inches, a width of 3 inches, and a height of 2½ inches.
• In the example embodiment, the upper face of the forwardly and downwardly sloping oblique upper wall panel of the lower amplifier housing intersected the outer vertical surface front wall panel of the amplifier housing along a horizontal intersection line which was located about ⅜ inch above the lower edge of the front wall panel.
• Also in the example embodiment, the lower face of the rearwardly and upwardly sloping oblique lower wall panel of the upper speaker housing intersected the outer vertical surface of the rear wall panel of the speaker housing along a horizontal line which was located about ⅝ inch below the upper edge of the rear wall panel.
• In the example embodiment of the speaker/amplifier which had the foregoing relative dimensions, with the relative rotational orientation between the upper speaker housing and lower amplifier housing at a zero-degree, home value, the lower oblique face of the upper speaker housing contacted the upper oblique face of the lower amplifier housing in a plane which perpendicularly penetrates the left and right vertical side walls of the composite cube formed by the rotatably conjoined upper and lower housing sections. The outer edges of the contact plane formed diagonally disposed, 3-inch long traces in the left and right sides of the cube-like composite housing thus formed. In this home position, the upper flat surface of the speaker grille is parallel to the lower base surface of the amplifier housing. Thus positioned, sounds emitted by the speaker are directed in an upward vertical direction, perpendicularly to the speaker grille and a supporting surface such as a table top on which the speaker/amplifier is placed.
• According to the invention, a second configuration of the speaker/amplifier is obtained by grasping the lower, amplifier housing in one hand, grasping the upper speaker housing in the other hand, and turning the speaker housing 90 degrees counterclockwise relative to the amplifier housing. By so doing, the lower edge of the rear upper wall section of the speaker housing is rotated from its initial home position in contact with the upper edge of the rear wall section of the amplifier housing, to a position contacting the oblique left edge of the upper oblique face of the lower amplifier housing. In this position, contacting oblique faces of the speaker and amplifier housing position the speaker grille at an orientation in which a normal center line of the speaker is angled at about 45 degrees forward and 45 degrees to the left, relative to the base of the amplifier housing. Thus, in this second configuration, sounds emitted from the speaker are directed obliquely forward and to the left, relative to the base of the amplifier housing.
• Rotating the speaker housing another 90 degrees, i.e., 180 degrees counterclockwise relative to its home orientation relative to the amplifier housing, produces a third configuration of the speaker/amplifier according to the present invention. In this third configuration, the lower edge of the upper short rear panel wall section of the upper speaker housing contacts the upper short edge of the lower short front panel wall section of the lower amplifier housing. In this configuration, a center line perpendicular to the speaker grille is angled at about 45 degrees upwardly and forward from the base of the amplifier housing. Thus, in this position, sounds emitted by the speaker are directed predominately in a 45 degree upward direction upwardly and forwardly relative to the base of amplifier housing.
• To restore the speaker/amplifier unit to an original, most-compact cube-like configuration, the speaker housing is rotated clockwise relative to the amplifier base to the zero-degree home position in two 90-degree increments, i.e., a total of 180 degrees clockwise.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a right front perspective view of a portable loudspeaker and amplifier device according to the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the loudspeaker/amplifier ofFIG. 1.
• FIG. 3 is a right side elevation view of the loudspeaker/amplifier ofFIG. 1.
• FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view of the loudspeaker/amplifier ofFIG. 1.
• FIG. 5 is a left side elevation view of the loudspeaker/amplifier ofFIG. 1.
• FIG. 6 is an upper plan view of the loudspeaker/amplifier ofFIG. 1.
• FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the loudspeaker/amplifier ofFIG. 1.
• FIG. 8 is a fragmentary exploded lower perspective view of the loudspeaker/amplifier ofFIG. 1, showing a battery compartment door thereof removed.
• FIG. 9 is a fragmentary exploded upper perspective view of the loudspeaker/amplifier ofFIG. 1, showing an upper, and lower, speaker housing and amplifier housing thereof disassembled from one another, and showing a snap ring for rotatably joining the housings, preparatory to installing the snap ring.
• FIG. 10 is a fragmentary upper plan view showing the upper oblique mating plane face of the lower, amplifier housing ofFIG. 9.
• FIG. 11 a fragmentary lower plan view showing the lower oblique mating plane face of the upper, speaker housing ofFIG. 9.
• FIG. 12A is an upper plan view of the snap ring ofFIG. 9.
• FIG. 12B is an upper perspective view of the snap ring ofFIG. 9.
• FIG. 13A is a lower plan view of the snap ring ofFIG. 9.
• FIG. 13B is a lower perspective view of the snap ring ofFIG. 9.
• FIG. 14 is an upper plan view of the upper, speaker housing ofFIG. 9.
• FIG. 15 is a lower plan view of the lower, amplifier housing ofFIG. 9.
• FIG. 16 is a vertical medial sectional view showing the upper and lower housings ofFIG. 9 preparatory to their being rotatably fastened together.
• FIG. 17 is a vertical medial section view of the upper and lower housings ofFIG. 9, showing downwardly protruding legs of the snap ring ofFIGS. 12 and 13 inserted through a central clearance aperture through the bottom oblique wall panel of the upper housing into in an interference fit within an axially aligned aperture through the upper oblique wall panel of the lower housing to thus rotatably join together the two housings.
• FIG. 18 is a front perspective view of the loudspeaker/amplifier ofFIG. 1 in a first, 0-degree home configuration, with the upper housing containing the loudspeaker oriented parallel to the lower housing containing the amplifier.
• FIG. 19 is a front perspective view of the loudspeaker amplifier ofFIG. 1 in a second configuration showing the upper speaker housing rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise relative to the lower amplifier housing.
• FIG. 20 is a right side perspective view of the arrangement ofFIG. 19.
• FIG. 21 is a left side perspective view of the arrangement ofFIG. 19.
• FIG. 22 is a front perspective showing the loudspeaker housing in a third configuration rotated 180 degrees counter-clockwise relative to the amplifier housing.
• FIG. 23 is a right side perspective view of the arrangement ofFIG. 22.
• FIG. 24 is a left side perspective view of the arrangement ofFIG. 22.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
• FIGS. 1-7 and18 illustrate a portable loudspeaker and integral amplifier device according to the present invention, in a first, compact, 0-degree home configuration in which an upper, loudspeaker housing of the device is rotatably oriented with respect to a lower, amplifier housing to position the two housings in vertical alignment.
• FIGS. 8-17 illustrate construction details of the speaker/amplifier device ofFIGS. 1-7.
• FIGS. 19-21 illustrate a second configuration of the device ofFIG. 1, in which the upper speaker housing is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise relative to the lower amplifier housing to thus direct sounds from the speaker in an obliquely upwardly angled direction.
• FIGS. 22-24 illustrate a third configuration of the device ofFIG. 1, in which the speaker housing is rotated 180 degrees counterclockwise relative to the amplifier housing, to thus direct sounds from the speaker in a forwardly and upwardly angled direction.
• Referring now toFIGS. 1-7,16 and17, it may be seen that a portable loudspeaker/amplifier device50 according to the present invention includes a lower,base housing section51 which contains anamplifier52 and apower supply53, and an upper,speaker housing section54 which contains aloudspeaker55. As shown inFIGS. 1-7, theamplifier base housing51 has generally the shape of a truncated hollow rectangular prism.
• As shown inFIG. 9,amplifier base housing51 has a flat, rectangular-shapedbase wall56, a laterally disposed frontvertical wall57 which protrudes perpendicularly upwards from the base wall, a laterally disposedrear wall58 which is parallel to the front wall and protrudes perpendicularly upwards from the base wall, and parallel left and rightvertical side walls59,60 which are perpendicular to the front and rear walls and the base wall.
• As is also shown in FIGS.9,16 and17, an upper end ofamplifier base housing51 of speaker/amplifier device50 is truncated by an upper flatoblique wall panel61 which is disposed downwardly and forwardly from a rearupper edge62 ofrear wall58 to a frontupper edge63 offront wall57.
• As shown inFIG. 9, the rear andfront edges62 and63 of rear andfront walls56,57 ofamplifier base housing51 are parallel tobase wall56 ofbase section51. As may be seen best by referring toFIGS. 3 and 5, obliqueupper wall panel61 is perpendicular to left andright side walls59.60 and inclined at a dihedral angle of 45 degrees to front andrear side walls57 and58 ofamplifier base housing51.
• Referring toFIGS. 1-7,9,16 and17, it may be seen that the upper,speaker housing54 of amplifier/speaker50 has a shape which is complementary to that ofamplifier base housing51, i.e., that of an inverted rectangular prism which is truncated by an obliquely angled lower end face that is perpendicular to the side walls of the prism. Thus, as shown inFIGS. 1-7 and9,upper speaker housing54 of speaker/amplifier device50 has a flat rectangular ring-shapedupper end wall66, a front laterally disposedvertical wall67 which protrudes perpendicularly downwards from the upper end wall, a rear laterally disposedrear wall68 which is parallel to the front wall that protrudes perpendicularly downwards from the upper end wall, and parallel left and rightvertical side wall69,70 which depend perpendicularly downward from the upper end wall and are perpendicular to the front and rear walls and the upper end wall.
• As shown inFIGS. 9,16 and17,speaker housing55 of speaker/amplifier device50 has a lower flatoblique wall panel71 which is disposed downwardly and forwardly from a rearlower edge72 ofrear wall68 to a front lower edge73 offront wall67 of the speaker housing.
• As shown inFIG. 9, the front andrear edges72,73 of rear andfront walls68,67 ofspeaker housing54 are parallel toupper edge wall66 ofspeaker housing54. As may be seen best by referring toFIGS. 3 and 5, obliquelower wall panel71 ofspeaker housing54 is perpendicular to left andright side walls69 and70, and inclined at a dihedral angle of 45 degrees to front andrear walls71 and72 ofspeaker housing54. Thus, as shown in FIGS.3,4 and17, when theupper speaker housing54 is vertically aligned withlower amplifier housing51, the oblique lower face of the obliquelower panel71 of the upper speaker housing congruently contacts the upper face of the upperoblique panel wall61 of the lower amplifier base housing, and the frusto-prismatically shaped upper and lower “semi-cube”housings54 and51 form a parallelepiped which has a shape that approximates that of a cube.
• As shown inFIGS. 1,3 and5, the dimensions of the speaker/amplifier device50 may differ somewhat from those of a perfect cube. Thus, the example embodiment of the speaker/amplifier device shown inFIGS. 1,3 and5 had a width of about 3 inches, a height of about 2½ inches, a front wall height of about ⅜ inch, and a rear wall height of about ⅝ inch.
• FIGS. 9-18 illustrate how upper,speaker housing54 is rotatably joined tolower amplifier housing51 by means of a rotatable joint80 which includes atubular snap ring81. As shown in those figures, joint80 includes a thincircular boss82 which protrudes downwardly from thelower surface83 of the center of obliquelower panel wall71 ofupper speaker housing54.
• As may be seen best by referring toFIGS. 9,11,16 and17,speaker housing boss82 has generally the shape of a flat, circularannular ring84 which has a flat annular ring-shapedlower surface85.Lower surface85 has protruding downwardly therefrom4 small hemispherically-shapedindexing detent buttons86,87,88,89 which are spaced circumferentially apart at 90-degree intervals.Ring84 also has protruding downward fromlower surface85 thereof a rectangular transverse crosssection indexing rib90.Indexing rib90 has in plan view the shape of a 90-degree long circular arc segment.Rib90 is disposed circumferentially betweendetent buttons86,87, at a radial location between a centralcoaxial aperture91 through theboss82, and radially inwardly located sides of the detent buttons.
• As shown inFIGS. 9,10 and16, joint80 includes a thin, shallowcircular depression92 in theupper surface93 of the upperoblique panel wall61 of loweramplifier base housing51. As shown inFIG. 16,depression92 is centrally located in upperoblique panel wall61 of loweramplifier base housing51, and is of slightly larger diameter thanspeaker housing boss82, so that it may conformally and rotatably receive the downwardly protruding parts of the speaker housing boss.
• As may be seen best by referring toFIGS. 9 and 10,depression92 in upperoblique panel wall61 ofamplifier base housing51 has formed in the upper flat annular ring-shapedwall94 thereof acircular groove95.Groove95 has the same diameter as that of a circle on which detent buttons86-89 ofspeaker housing boss82 are located.
• As shown inFIGS. 9 and 10, circular ring-shapedgroove95 in upperoblique panel wall61 ofamplifier housing51 has a generally rectangularly-shaped transverse cross section.Groove95 also has formed therein four generally hemispherically-shapeddetent depressions96,97,98,99 which are circumferentially spaced apart at 90-degree intervals and of an appropriate diameter to receivedetent buttons86,87,88,89.
• Referring toFIGS. 9 and 10,depression92 in upperoblique wall panel61 oflower amplifier housing51 has through its thickness dimension a centralcircular aperture100. As is also shown inFIGS. 9 and 10,depression92 has formed inlower wall surface101 thereof a circular arc-shapedgroove102.Groove102 has a rectangular transverse cross-sectional shape, and an arc length of about 270 degrees. Arc-shapedgroove102 is of an appropriate size to insertably and rotatably slidably receive the 90-degreelong indexing rib90 which protrudes downwardly fromspeaker housing boss82.
• With the foregoing construction,speaker housing boss82 is conformally receivable downwardly and rotatably to thus position lower face103 ofoblique panel wall71 ofspeaker housing54 withincircular depression92 inupper surface104 ofamplifier housing51. In this position, the lower planar surface103 of obliquelower panel wall71 of the speaker housing rotatably slidably contacts the upperplanar surface104 of obliqueupper panel wall61 of theamplifier housing51.
• FIGS. 9-17 illustrate construction details of joint80 which facilitates rotational motion ofspeaker housing54 relative to amplifierhousing51, while maintaining the facing surfaces of the oblique planes of the housing in mutually slidable contact, and restrained against perpendicular relative notion between the planes.
• As shown inFIGS. 12A-13B,16 and17,snap ring81 of rotatable joint80 has an upper flat circular disk-shapedhead105 and three flangedgripper legs106,107,108 which protrude perpendicularly downwards from the lowerflat surface109 of the head. As may be seen best by referring toFIGS. 12B,13B and16,legs106,107,108 are axially disposed sections of a hollow cylindrical tube which is coaxial withhead105, the tube being segmented or trifurcated into three identically shaped separate legs which are circumferentially spaced apart at 120-degree intervals by three axially disposedslots110,111,112, that are also spaced circumferentially apart at 120 degree intervals.
• Snap ring81 is made of a material such as nylon or other hard plastic which enables lower ends ofgripping legs106,107,108 to elastically deform in radial directions.
• As shown inFIGS. 12B and 13B, eachleg106,107,108 has at the lower end thereof a radially outwardly protruding shoulder flange orbarb113,114,115. As may be seen best by referring toFIG. 16, eachbarb113,114,115 has a flat, radially alignedshoulder116,117,118.
• As may be seen best by referring toFIGS. 12A,12B and13A,snap ring fastener81 has through the thickness dimension of circular disk-shapedhead105 thereof is a centralcoaxial clearance hole119. As may be seen best by referring toFIGS. 13A,13B and16,lower face109 ofhead105 ofsnap ring81 has formed therein a shallow ring-shaped groove120 which receives an elastomeric O-ring121.
• FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate howsnap ring81 is used to rotatably fastenspeaker housing54 toamplifier housing51. As shown inFIGS. 16 and 17,speaker driver wires122,123 fromamplifier53 are first strung throughcentral aperture100 through upperoblique panel wall61 ofamplifier housing51. The wires are then strung throughcentral aperture91 through loweroblique panel wall71 ofspeaker housing54, throughcentral clearance hole119 throughsnap ring81, and soldered toterminals124,125 ofloudspeaker55.
• Next, as shown inFIGS. 16 and 17,boss82 ofspeaker housing54 is inserted intodepression92 ofamplifier housing51, thus placing the obliquelower panel wall71 of the speaker housing in contact with the upperoblique panel wall61 of the amplifier housing. Grippinglegs106,107,108 ofsnap ring81 are then inserted downwards throughcentral clearance aperture91 throughboss82, and into an interference fit intocentral aperture100 throughdepression92 ofamplifier housing51.
• As shown inFIG. 13B, the lower end surfaces126,127,128 ofbarb flanges113,114,115 have angled, rampedsurfaces129,130.131, to facilitate insertion into the smaller diametercentral aperture100 through upperoblique panel wall61 ofamplifier housing51. Contact of the foregoing ramped surfaces with the innercircumferential wall147 ofcentral aperture100 causes the lower ends of thegripping legs106,107,108 to elastically deform radially inwards, to thus allow the barbs on the lower ends of the legs to pass axially downward throughaperture100.
• When the flat upper edges of the barbs have passed through theaperture100, elasticity oflegs106,107,108 causes the legs to spring radially outwards, thus captivating the snap ring from axial upward movement. With this arrangement,speaker housing54 is secured against axial movement relative to amplifierhousing51, but free to rotate about an axis directed vertically and perpendicularly through the oblique mating wall panels of the two housings.
• As shown inFIGS. 16 and 17, speaker/amplifier device50 includes aperforated speaker grille133 which is fastened into an upperrectangular opening134 inspeaker housing54, as shown inFIG. 6. As is also shown inFIGS. 16 and 17, speaker/amplifier50 preferably includes a Bluetoothradio frequency transceiver135.Transceiver135 has an audio frequency signal output port connected to an input port ofaudio amplifier52. This arrangement enables audio signals from various Bluetooth-enabled devices including microphones to be received bytransceiver135, amplified byaudio amplifier52, conducted toloudspeaker55, and emitted as amplified audio signals from the loudspeaker.
• Referring toFIG. 8, it may be seen that speaker/amplifier50 has aninternal power supply136 that includesbattery cells137 which are held in abattery holder138. Preferably, as shown inFIG. 8, thebattery cells137 are a rechargeable type and connected through battery charging circuits (not shown) to aUSB port139. With thisarrangement USB port139 can be connected through a cable to a powered USB port such as commonly found on a PC, to thus enable chargingbatteries137.
• As shown inFIG. 8,battery holder138 of speaker/amplifier device50 includes aremovable closure lid140.Device50 also includes an on/offslide switch141.
• As shown inFIG. 7, speaker/amplifier50 also preferably includes an auxiliaryamplifier input cable142 which is connected at an inner end throughbase panel143 ofamplifier housing54 toamplifier52, at an outer end thereof to a two-conductorelectrical plug144.Cable142 and plug144 fit conformally onto a similarly shapedgroove145 in the bottom surface ofbase panel143.
• As shown inFIGS. 1 and 3, speaker/amplifier50 also includes anLED bar display145 mounted in right-hand wall panel60 which displays battery charge status. As is also shown inFIGS. 1 and 3, speaker/amplifier50 also includes a rotaryvolume control knob146 which protrudes partially through aslot147 in right-hand wall panel60 ofamplifier base housing51.
• FIGS. 18-24 illustrate howupper speaker housing54 is rotatable with respect tolower amplifier housing51 to thus orient at three different discrete rotation angles relative tobase56 of the amplifier housing a central perpendicular axis tospeaker grille133, which indicates the predominate direction of sounds emitted byloudspeaker55. Rotational re-configuration ofspeaker housing54 relative to amplifierhousing51 is performed by grasping the amplifier housing in one hand, grasping the speaker housing in the other hand, and exerting an upward tensional force on the speaker housing against the elastic force of O-ring121 to thus withdraw detent buttons86-89 in the bottomoblique panel wall71 of the speaker housing from detent depressions96-99 in the upperoblique panel wall61 of the amplifier housing. The speaker housing is then rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise to thus realign the detent buttons86-89 withdetent depressions97,98,99 and96, and tension is then released on the upper speaker housing. The resilience of O-ring121 then exerts a compressive force to thus re-sea the detent buttons in the detent depressions, thus reorientingspeaker housing54 relative to amplifier housing to a second orientation, as shown inFIGS. 19-21.
• In an exactly analogous fashion,speaker housing54 can be rotated counterclockwise an additional 90 degrees to a third configuration, shown inFIGS. 22-24. From this position, thespeaker housing54 can be re-oriented back to the second or first configurations by grasping the speaker housing and rotating it 90 degrees or 180 degrees clockwise relative to the amplifier housing.

Claims (20)

What is claimed is:

1. A portable combination electronic amplifier and loudspeaker device comprising;

a. an amplifier housing,

b. an electronic amplifier contained within said amplifier housing, said amplifier having an input port for receiving audio frequencies, electrical signals and an output port for outputting amplified signals,

c. a speaker housing containing a loudspeaker,

d. a rotatable joint rotatably joining said speaker housing to said amplifier housing,

e. at least a first electrical conductor connecting said output port of said amplifier to an input port of said loudspeaker, and

f. an electrical power source for providing electrical power to said amplifier.

2. The device ofclaim 1 wherein said joint facilitates orienting an axis of said loudspeaker housing relative to said amplifier housing to different orientation angles selected from a range of values.

3. The device ofclaim 2 wherein said range of orientation angles comprises at least three discrete angles.

4. The device ofclaim 3 wherein said amplifier housing is further defined as having a base wall and an upper flat oblique wall panel angled obliquely with respect to said base wall.

5. The device ofclaim 4 wherein said speaker housing is further defined as having an upper edge wall and a lower flat oblique wall panel angled obliquely with respect to said upper edge wall.

6. The device ofclaim 5 wherein said lower oblique wall panel of said speaker housing is maintained in parallel overlying relationship to said upper oblique wall panel of said amplifier housing by said rotatable joint.

7. The device ofclaim 8 wherein said amplifier housing is further defined as having generally the shape of a hollow rectangular cross-section prism having a flat rectangular base and a truncated upper end wall comprised of said upper oblique wall panel of said amplifier housing.

8. The device ofclaim 7 wherein said speaker housing is further defined as having generally the shape of a hollow rectangular prism having a flat rectangular upper end and a truncated lower end comprised of said lower oblique wall panel of said speaker housing.

9. The device ofclaim 8 wherein said upper oblique wall panel of said amplifier housing is congruently alignable with said lower oblique wall panel of said speaker housing with said speaker housing oriented at a first, 0-degree orientation angle relative to said amplifier housing.

10. The device ofclaim 9 wherein said rotatable joint is further defined as having a rotation axis which is perpendicular to said obliqua upper wall panel of said amplifier housing and said oblique lower wall panel of said speaker housing.

11. The device ofclaim 10 wherein said rotation axis of said rotatable joint is further defined as being centered in said upper oblique wall panel of said amplifier housing and said lower oblique wall panel of said speaker housing.

12. The device ofclaim 11 wherein said rotatable joint is further defined as facilitating rotational motion in a first sense of said speaker housing a first ninety-degree increment from said first, 0-degree orientation to a second, 90-degree orientation.

13. The device ofclaim 12 wherein said rotational joint is further defined as facilitating rotational motion of said speaker housing a second ninety-degree increment from said second, 90-degree orientation to a third, 180-degree orientation.

14. The device ofclaim 13 wherein said rotational joint is further defined as facilitating rotational motion in a second sense of said speaker housing relative to said amplifier housing from said 180-degree orientation to said 90-degree and 0-degree orientations.

15. The device ofclaim 14 wherein said rotational joint is further defined as including detents for releasably maintaining said speaker housing at said 0-degrees, 90-degrees and 180-degree orientations.

16. The device ofclaim 15 further including a rotational motion-limiting mechanism for limiting rotational motion of said speaker housing relative to said amplifier housing to 180 degrees.

17. The device ofclaim 16 wherein said rotational motion limiting mechanism is further defined as comprising in combination a rib which has the shape of 90-degree long circular arc segment which protrudes perpendicularly from a confronting surface of one of said upper and lower oblique wall panels of said amplifier housing and said speaker housing, and a groove that has the shape of a 270-degree long circular arc segment, said groove penetrating a confronting surface of the other of said lower and upper oblique wall panels and rotatably receiving therewithin said rib.

18. The device ofclaim 17 wherein said rotatable joint is further defined as having a hollow tubular axle.

19. The device ofclaim 18 wherein at least one of said electrical conductors connecting said output port of said amplifier to said input port of said loudspeaker is disposed axially through a bore through said hollow tubular axle of said rotatable joint.

20. The device ofclaim 18 wherein said rotatable joint is further defined as including in combination;

a. a snap ring which has a tubular body that is longitudinally segmented to thus from at least a first pair of elastically deformable legs, said tubular body having at an upper head end thereof a transversely disposed head of larger diameter than that of said tubular body,

b. a clearance hole disposed through one of said oblique wall panels of said speaker housing and said amplifier housing, and

c. an interference hole through the other of said oblique wall panel of said amplifier housing and said oblique wall panel of said speaker housing, said interference hole receiving in an interference fit, said tubular body of said ring and being elastically grippable by elastic radial deformation of said legs of said snap ring.

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